Looking for the perfect sauce to drizzle over your potatoes? This Bravas sauce, aka Salsa Brava in Spanish, is a tomato-based sauce with a smoky flavor and a lovely kick from the paprika. We'll show you how we cook it in Spain so that you can recreate these delicious Spanish flavors in your kitchen.
What is Bravas Sauce or Salsa Brava?
Bravas sauce is a spicy tomato-based sauce that is served over Patatas Bravas as a tapa all around Spanish Tapas bars. This smooth, spicy sauce is served together with mayonnaise to combine both flavors and create the perfect match for your potatoes.
I grew up in Spain, and Patatas Bravas was always one of my favorite tapas to order. The name "bravas" means fierce, bold, or brave in Spanish, referring to the sauce's spicy kick. Even if it has a little kick, this tapas dish is not overly spicy and can be handled by most people.
When it comes to the Bravas sauce, you will find many variations of the same recipe. Patatas Bravas sauce is cooked differently in different parts of Spain, so I want to share our family recipe, the one my grandmother taught me.
Our Bravas Sauce is:
- Vegetarian / Vegan
- Mildly spicy
- A Spanish recipe
- Easy to prepare
- Quick to make
- Perfect for BBQ, dipping sauce, party dips, etc.
Ingredients
Yellow onion and garlic. For your salsa brava, you'll need a yellow or white onion. You can alternatively use shallots or red onion.
Chopped tomatoes. For this recipe, you can choose to use fresh tomatoes (which we recommend during summer months) or good quality canned tomatoes. As we made this recipe during winter months, we used lovely bright red chopped canned tomatoes. Tomatoes are the key ingredient for a delicious bravas sauce. They need to be sweet and juicy.
Spicy smoked paprika (pimentón picante) and sweet paprika (pimentón dulce). When it comes to hot paprika and sweet paprika, we choose the best, as it makes a huge difference in the taste of your dishes. La Chinata is a Spanish brand that makes great paprikas. You can also use cayenne to give your sauce the spicy kick.
Olive oil. We use Spanish olive oil as it adds that lovely flavor to the sauce. We don't recommend using extra virgin olive oil, as we'll be cooking the oil. You can choose another vegetable oil of your choice, but we strongly recommend using olive oil if available.
Tomato paste. This ingredient is optional. We like adding some tomato paste or tomato puree to add that umami note to the dish. As well, tomato paste enhances the flavor of the fresh or canned tomatoes.
Flour. For this recipe, the flour acts as a thickener. You need some flour to give the salsa brava the right consistency.
Vegetable broth. Some recipes use chicken stock, but we want to keep this recipe vegetarian, so we are using vegetable stock. You can also use water but you will need to add some more salt to the sauce.
Sherry vinegar (Vinagre de Jerez). This type of vinegar is commonly used in Spain, and it adds a lovely flavor with a mild acidity to the dish. If you don't have Sherry vinegar, you can add some lemon juice, red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
Step-by-Step Method
Heat some olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, and cook for a few minutes until the color starts to change. Add the garlic, and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
Incorporate the flour, and cook for at least 2-3 minutes to make sure the flour cooks and doesn't leave a raw taste in your sauce.
Add the chopped tomatoes, sweet and spicy paprika, and tomato paste. Stir well and cook for a few minutes.
Pour the vegetable stock and sherry vinegar, and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer. At this point, add some water and cook for about 10 minutes.
Transfer the sauce to a blender jar, and use an immersion blender to blend the sauce. You can also use a food processor. Blend until you have a smooth, spicy tomato sauce. The consistency of the sauce should be smooth, and not too thin or too thick. You should be able to drizzle it over the potatoes with a spoon.
Bravas Sauce Recipe (Salsa Brava)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- ½ tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon spicy paprika
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat some olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, and cook for a few minutes until the color starts to change. Add the garlic, and cook for 1-2 more minutes.2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 yellow onion, 2-3 garlic cloves
- Add the flour, and cook for at least 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.2 tablespoon all purpose flour
- Add the chopped tomatoes, sweet and spicy paprika, and tomato paste. Stir well and continue cook for a few minutes.1 cup chopped tomatoes, ½ tablespoon sweet smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon spicy paprika, 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- Pour the vegetable stock and sherry vinegar, and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer. Leave the sauce simmering for about 10 minutes, while stirring frequently. Add salt to season.1 tablespoon sherry vinegar, 1 cup vegetable stock, 1 teaspoon salt
- Transfer the sauce to a hand blender, and blend until you have a smooth Bravas Sauce.
- Enjoy on fried potatoes, as a dipping sauce, or even pasta sauce.
Video
Newsletter
Nutrition
Variations to our Bravas Sauce Recipe
- Make it gluten-free. You can make our Spanish sauce gluten-free by changing the flour to gluten-free flour. Also, make sure the stock you are using is gluten-free.
- Add red pepper. This is a variation my grandma used to do. Sometimes, we would add roasted red pepper to the sauce before blending it to add a more intense peppery flavor.
- Change the consistency to your taste. Depending on what you want to use this salsa for, you can adjust the consistency to make it thicker (add less water during cooking), or runner (add more vegetable stock). This recipe makes for the perfect texture for Bravas Potatoes.
- Make a spicy bravas sauce. You can add cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or more spicy paprika to make a spicy salsa brava.
Serving Suggestions
As a Spanish myself, I have just one way to serve Bravas sauce, and that is on fried, air-fried, or baked potatoes, served together with some mayonnaise or a creamy garlic aioli. This dish is called Patatas Bravas. That said, I know there are many other ways you can enjoy this salsa at home, so here are some great ideas to use all of the Bravas Sauce:
- As a pasta sauce. I have a very simple rule: what goes well on potatoes most probably will go well on pasta, right? That works with Bravas sauce. Our kids love it on their pasta, served with some nutritional yeast on top.
- As a dip for your main dishes, we served this salsa with our air-fried parsnips, and let me tell you, that was a fantastic combo. You can serve this with cauliflower nuggets, tofu schnitzel, cabbage steaks, or any vegetable or protein of your choice.
- As a dip for nuggets. Tofu nuggets, cauliflower nuggets, and anything nugget, will pair beautifully with this sauce!
- Tapa's night (party-style food). We love making tapas night at home! Normally, the centerpiece of the tapa's night is the Baked Spanish Tortilla and a lovely Vegetarian Paella. We prepare garlic and white wine mushrooms, homemade gazpacho, and of course, Spanish patatas bravas with this beautiful sauce. All this delicious food served with olives, bread, a fresh salad, or even grilled vegetables makes for a perfect dinner.
Store and Reheat
Leftover Bravas sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Make sure the sauce is cooled completely before transferring to the fridge. To keep the sauce for longer, consider freezing it.
Salsa Brava sauce can be served at room temperature. Also, it tastes great after being chilled for some time.
To reheat Bravas sauce, transfer it to a saucepan and gently warm over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Alternatively, it can be reheated using the microwave.
FAQ and Tips
Absolutely! Bravas sauce can be made in advance. Let it cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container and storing it in the fridge until ready to use. The flavors will continue to develop as it sits.
Our Bravas Sauce is not an overly hot sauce but will have a nice kick. Adjust the amount of spicy paprika or cayenne to suit your taste - more for extra heat, less for milder spice.
The answer would be: you never know! Many recipes use chicken stock when cooking the sauce, so if you want to have Bravas Sauce in a restaurant, make sure you ask before, as they may not be vegetarian.
Leave a Reply